Press Releases

Armand Ferrio Pleads Guilty to Two Cold Case Rapes

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today announced that Armand Ferrio (DOB: 11/1/86), with a last known address of 168 South Main Street, Woonsocket, pleaded guilty to two counts of first degrees sexual assault and one count of first degree robbery. The sexual assaults took place in 2004 and 2009 and remained unsolved until Ferrio's DNA was entered into the CODIS database as a result of a 2010 conviction on a charge of attempted breaking and entering.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Superior Court Justice Netti C. Vogel sentenced Ferrio to 40 years, with 24 to serve with the balance suspended with probation, no contact with either victim, sex offender counseling and sex offender registration upon his release from the ACI.

Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Armand Ferrio sexually assaulted two women.

On or about December 14, 2004, Ferrio was walking in the vicinity of High Street where he approached a 44-year old woman as she walking down the street. He forcibly attacked and raped the woman on the side of the road near the railroad tracks. She was treated at Landmark Medical Center where a rape kit was performed and DNA samples taken. Results showed an unknown single male donor DNA profile along with the DNA profile of the victim. The unknown male profile donor was entered into the CODIS database in 2004.

On or about November 1, 2009, Ferrio broke into a home on South Main Street, Woonsocket, where he forcibly raped a 49-year old woman who was sleeping on the floor. The victim described her assailant to the police as a white male with short hair and a tattoo on his forearm. She was treated at Landmark Medical Center where a rape kit was performed and DNA samples taken. Results showed an unknown single male donor DNA profile along with the DNA profile of the victim. The unknown male profile donor was entered into the CODIS database where it matched the DNA from the 2004 sexual assault.

The cases remained unsolved until June 2011 when Woonsocket Police received a report from the Rhode Island Department of Health indicating that the unknown single male donor profile from the two sexual assaults matched that of Armand Ferrio, whose DNA was taken and entered into the database after pleading guilty to and being sentenced for an unrelated felony.

With the new information, Woonsocket Police arrested and charged Ferrio with the sexual assaults.

"DNA has become of the most reliable pieces of evidence in criminal investigations and prosecutions. Not only does it provide the opportunity for more efficient investigations, it also provides for more effective investigations by assisting in solving cold cases. In this case, the science of DNA helped put a violent rapist behind bars," said Attorney General Kilmartin.

Woonsocket Police Detective Alan LeClaire led the investigation and Special Assistant Attorney General Shannon Signore prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.